{"id":35594,"date":"2022-04-15T17:00:27","date_gmt":"2022-04-15T21:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/?p=35594"},"modified":"2022-04-19T15:49:32","modified_gmt":"2022-04-19T19:49:32","slug":"mac-app-store-ransomware","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/2022\/04\/15\/mac-app-store-ransomware\/","title":{"rendered":"Mac App Store Ransomware"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kosta Eleftheriou<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

I didn’t think this was possible:<\/p>\n

This App Store app [My Metronome - Tempo Keeper] immediately asks you for money and then disables<\/em> the “Quit” option so that you can never close it!<\/p>\n

And it’s been like that on the App Store for years!<\/p>\n\"Mac\n

The developer has grossed almost a million dollars on the App Store.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Stephen Warwick<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Users say the app forces users to pay by locking a user’s computer, with some unable to close ads or the program itself until they had paid for the service, almost akin to ransomware.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

Jeff Johnson<\/a>:<\/p>\n

This developer “Music Paradise, LLC” appears to be the exact same developer as “Groove Vibes”. Registered at the same street address in Novosibirsk, Russia!<\/p>

Also, both apps lock up your Mac and can’t be quit, which is what led me to investigate.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

But they are catching some good developers. Jacob Eiting<\/a>:<\/p>\n

One of our employees apps just got banned from the App Store for “trying to deceive users” because we used it to test price change behavior: they created a new SKU, subscribed to it, then raised the price from $4\/wk to $9\/wk to get screenshots of the flow.<\/p>

This must have flagged something in the App Store looking for fraudulent price increases (even though it was opt-in) and they got a notice that the app will be removed in 14 days.<\/p>

They told Apple it was just a test, and that wasn’t a good enough reason for them.<\/p>

It was ONE PURCHASE. That’s obviously not fraud.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

Meanwhile, Disney gets a special flow for increasing the subscription price without the customer opting in.<\/p>\n\n

Previously:<\/p>\n